Long Story Short intriguing

Oliver Sacks in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and other Clinical Tales states that the “telling of our life stories is perhaps one of the most powerful therapeutic tools available to man.” On Saturday, the courage displayed by some of the story tellers who gathered at Grosvener Terrace makes Sacks’ statement quite credible. The ­stories that came to life at the fourth staging of Long Story Short, entertained, educated, inspired, and intrigued. The fact that they embodied life experiences made them all the more relatable.

There was Sir Greg, who narrated the classic boy-meets-girl-and-wants-to-impress-her tale, and, not unexpectedly, there was a rather hilarious ending. In the midst of Sir Greg showing off on the badminton court, just as he is about to make the shot of his life and win the total adoration of his new-found love, something goes pop, and it wasn’t the racquet connecting with the shuttle. It was his knee. He subsequently falls flat on his face and ends up in the emergency room, where he has another adventure, which leads him to title his story Somebody Always Has It Worse.

Storyteller and vitiligo advocate Sara Stanford told a tale that was mortifying, among other things. The audience could see where it was going, and it was not an enviable place. It was almost a cover-your-ears, along with an inner cry of, “No, I don’t want to hear this” kind of story that made the audience want to laugh while engulfed in waves of embarrassment.

So this hot girl, Sara, a thick, curvaceous, browning, makes a statement in her high-waist skirt, cute little top, and sandals. She’s going to the NCB in New Kingston, and it’s a real feel-good day. By the way, her skirt has a little split at the back, and, it’s one of those days when she’s brave enough to go commando.

Sara parks in a lot in New Kingston, walks along Trafalgar Road at 8:30 a.m., and the wolf whistles and looks of admiration are endless. “Babes!” “Baby!” “Browning!” “Yes girl!” she high-fives herself. Making her way up the steps of NCB, she feels a bit of breeze, but that’s not surprising, after all it’s Christmas. Sara enters NCB, and the gazes continue. Even the women are smiling. Our heroine feels empowered. Then a friend walks up to her, and as she is about to embrace him, he whispers in her ear, “Sara, yuh skirt split all the way up to yuh b@^^y.”

Joy Kelly’s story was the antithesis of her name and takes us back to Sacks’ observation. It was on December 30, 2001, that Kelly was abducted by a man in a white SUV on Grosvener Terrace, the same road on which the event was held. “For years, I couldn’t even drive past Grosvener Terrace, but I am here today,” she stated to applause. It was a drama that involved vicious rape and an incredible escape, followed by post-traumatic stress disorder and eventual healing. “Amazing things are sometimes wrapped up in horrible packages,” she told the audience courageously. Her ordeal has led her to the stage, where she is now a mentor to women who have gone through similar, and worse, situations. They are women to whom she would not have been able to relate, or even meet at all, had she not had her experience. If she could go back in time and relive that life-changing moment, what would Joy do? “I would climb in that white SUV all over again,” she said.

Among the other storytellers with amazing performances were Twan Richardson, Kevin Wallen, Kyle Chin, Kurt Wright, and Empress. Singer Aisha Davis performed at intervals and reminded everyone just how talented she was, while poet Mutabarauka was in stand-up mode with a series of amusing yet thought-provoking questions.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com